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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Mitch on September 9, 2001, at 22:21:44
I know this is really off the wall, and I have watched this movie a dozen times and enjoyed it, BUT, what is the deal with the door chimes on the cars? I know the filmmakers didn't include it by accident, so how does the door chimes play into the central theme of the movie? Any Lit/Film students out there? I have got some really rough ideas, but I can't find any closure with those ideas. Any help appreciated.
Mitch
Posted by Willow on September 9, 2001, at 22:42:31
In reply to Fargo and door chimes, posted by Mitch on September 9, 2001, at 22:21:44
Is it driving you nuts? If you can wait I'll try renting the movie again and report back on my idea. May take me a bit to find the movie, some delinqent smoked our local video store.
Willow
Posted by Wendy B. on September 9, 2001, at 23:15:13
In reply to Fargo and door chimes, posted by Mitch on September 9, 2001, at 22:21:44
You're right, it really IS off the wall!
But, as both a former lit AND film student ---
- my first thoughts have to do with the William H. Macy character, he's the used car salesman. He's got a scheme to kill his wife, and the car chimes may be a constant reminder to him that his 2-bit plot is going to turn around and bite him in the ass. I think this is a kind of homage the Coen brothers are paying to Hitchcock, perhaps, he always tied a song or a musical 'theme' to characters, especially if they were the bad guys, or if they were about to do something scary. If you want a really good example of this, rent Hitchcock's 'Shadow of a Doubt,' (1943, Joseph Cotten stars), a great film by the way. The theme associated with the murderer (Cotten) is the Merry Widow Waltz...
Cars are everywhere in Fargo... the squad car with the pregnant policewoman (Frances McDormand), the cars the hoods drive (Steve Buscemi was one of them), the used car lot, etc. But I don't remember if all the cars chime? or just Macy's character's or Macy & the hoods' cars? Does Frances' car chime? I remember there's a lot of muzak in the background, too.
And why do Frances and her hubby eat fast food all the time? How does that tie into the central theme (IF there is one?? like: "murder is bad"? or something...) I hate talk about themes, anyway... but I love talking about films, so keep it up. I haven't seen Fargo in ages, so you'll have to excuse the questions. Why don't you just tell us what your explanation of the chimes is...
What fun, Mitch!
Wendy
> I know this is really off the wall, and I have watched this movie a dozen times and enjoyed it, BUT, what is the deal with the door chimes on the cars? I know the filmmakers didn't include it by accident, so how does the door chimes play into the central theme of the movie? Any Lit/Film students out there? I have got some really rough ideas, but I can't find any closure with those ideas. Any help appreciated.
>
> Mitch
Posted by Mitch on September 9, 2001, at 23:36:02
In reply to Re: Fargo and door chimes, posted by Willow on September 9, 2001, at 22:42:31
> Is it driving you nuts? If you can wait I'll try renting the movie again and report back on my idea. May take me a bit to find the movie, some delinqent smoked our local video store.
>
> WillowOh, no it isn't really bugging me that much, but I love a film that isn't so *transparent*! Sure, I would suggest anybody rent it and report back!:) I just love *geographic* films or stories that relate to a sense of place.
Mitch
Posted by Mitch on September 10, 2001, at 0:06:37
In reply to Re: Fargo and door chimes, posted by Wendy B. on September 9, 2001, at 23:15:13
> But, as both a former lit AND film student ---
>
> - my first thoughts have to do with the William H. Macy character, he's the used car salesman. He's got a scheme to kill his wife, and the car chimes may be a constant reminder to him that his 2-bit plot is going to turn around and bite him in the ass. I think this is a kind of homage the Coen brothers are paying to Hitchcock, perhaps, he always tied a song or a musical 'theme' to characters, especially if they were the bad guys, or if they were about to do something scary. If you want a really good example of this, rent Hitchcock's 'Shadow of a Doubt,' (1943, Joseph Cotten stars), a great film by the way. The theme associated with the murderer (Cotten) is the Merry Widow Waltz...
>Hey, I never thought of that. I will make a point to watch 'Shadow of a Doubt'. I may have seen it before, but it isn't ringing any *bells* right now. Maybe I will find some further insight after watching that one, thanks!
> Cars are everywhere in Fargo... the squad car with the pregnant policewoman (Frances McDormand), the cars the hoods drive (Steve Buscemi was one of them), the used car lot, etc. But I don't remember if all the cars chime? or just Macy's character's or Macy & the hoods' cars? Does Frances' car chime? I remember there's a lot of muzak in the background, too.
>
> And why do Frances and her hubby eat fast food all the time? How does that tie into the central theme (IF there is one?? like: "murder is bad"? or something...) I hate talk about themes, anyway... but I love talking about films, so keep it up. I haven't seen Fargo in ages, so you'll have to excuse the questions. Why don't you just tell us what your explanation of the chimes is...
>
> What fun, Mitch!
>
> WendyYes, it is centered around cars, for sure. The fast food-everyone is eating from a car or getting it with one (except the buffet scene-go figure)! All I can do is paint some broad brush stroke impressions and let other people fill in the pieces, maybe. I remember something from my psychology class in high school about cars being an extension of our egos, our personalities. Also, all of the "chimes" that exist in the movie are pleasant sounding in a way. They relate to a *door* being ajar, something to alert you to shut it, or to keep you from locking your keys in the car (because the chimes don't go off unless the keys are left in). I was trying to think of other ways that *chimes* are used and I thought about door chimes for a home-normally they indicate someone *at the door* that is visiting. They are also used to announce *time*. Yes, I think it is a *reminder* device of some kind. Re-*mind*er *brain* *nerd*-Brainerd, SD?? Remember, the *funny* guy tells the highway patrolman why he forgot the tags on the car-"it must have slipped my *mind*"??
Gee, surely it isn't as simple as cars (aka technology) has cheapened our respect for humanity and made us into caricatures of a market economy-socio-economic fascism?? :) having fun,Mitch
Posted by susan C on September 10, 2001, at 10:27:32
In reply to Re: Fargo and door chimes » Wendy B., posted by Mitch on September 10, 2001, at 0:06:37
ya ya sure you bet-ch ya, mmmMMMMmmm-m? Seeing Fargo was like going back in time, to being raised in Minnie-s0-ta. Funny, don't recall the chimes, but I can tell you, like florida, everyone goes everywhere in cars. Particularly in the winter when the windchill in N minnesota is 50 below and so you hop from one car to another. One heated glowing blowing place to another. Wet Wool and cold fingers and toes. White food, literallly all scandinavian food is white..potatoes, fish, cream sauces. When she meets her old boyfriend in Minneapolis at the Rassusun hotel. I use to go there...time to go rent more movies I am going through monty python now... Additionally, poingent, for me, was the Massey character, as I used to sell cars...
Mouse with a cold cold past
Susan C
> > But, as both a former lit AND film student ---
> >
> > - my first thoughts have to do with the William H. Macy character, he's the used car salesman. He's got a scheme to kill his wife, and the car chimes may be a constant reminder to him that his 2-bit plot is going to turn around and bite him in the ass. I think this is a kind of homage the Coen brothers are paying to Hitchcock, perhaps, he always tied a song or a musical 'theme' to characters, especially if they were the bad guys, or if they were about to do something scary. If you want a really good example of this, rent Hitchcock's 'Shadow of a Doubt,' (1943, Joseph Cotten stars), a great film by the way. The theme associated with the murderer (Cotten) is the Merry Widow Waltz...
> >
>
> Hey, I never thought of that. I will make a point to watch 'Shadow of a Doubt'. I may have seen it before, but it isn't ringing any *bells* right now. Maybe I will find some further insight after watching that one, thanks!
>
> > Cars are everywhere in Fargo... the squad car with the pregnant policewoman (Frances McDormand), the cars the hoods drive (Steve Buscemi was one of them), the used car lot, etc. But I don't remember if all the cars chime? or just Macy's character's or Macy & the hoods' cars? Does Frances' car chime? I remember there's a lot of muzak in the background, too.
> >
> > And why do Frances and her hubby eat fast food all the time? How does that tie into the central theme (IF there is one?? like: "murder is bad"? or something...) I hate talk about themes, anyway... but I love talking about films, so keep it up. I haven't seen Fargo in ages, so you'll have to excuse the questions. Why don't you just tell us what your explanation of the chimes is...
> >
> > What fun, Mitch!
> >
> > Wendy
>
> Yes, it is centered around cars, for sure. The fast food-everyone is eating from a car or getting it with one (except the buffet scene-go figure)! All I can do is paint some broad brush stroke impressions and let other people fill in the pieces, maybe. I remember something from my psychology class in high school about cars being an extension of our egos, our personalities. Also, all of the "chimes" that exist in the movie are pleasant sounding in a way. They relate to a *door* being ajar, something to alert you to shut it, or to keep you from locking your keys in the car (because the chimes don't go off unless the keys are left in). I was trying to think of other ways that *chimes* are used and I thought about door chimes for a home-normally they indicate someone *at the door* that is visiting. They are also used to announce *time*. Yes, I think it is a *reminder* device of some kind. Re-*mind*er *brain* *nerd*-Brainerd, SD?? Remember, the *funny* guy tells the highway patrolman why he forgot the tags on the car-"it must have slipped my *mind*"??
> Gee, surely it isn't as simple as cars (aka technology) has cheapened our respect for humanity and made us into caricatures of a market economy-socio-economic fascism?? :) having fun,
>
> Mitch
Posted by Mitch on September 10, 2001, at 12:32:55
In reply to Re: Fargo and door chimes, posted by susan C on September 10, 2001, at 10:27:32
> ya ya sure you bet-ch ya, mmmMMMMmmm-m? Seeing Fargo was like going back in time, to being raised in Minnie-s0-ta. Funny, don't recall the chimes, but I can tell you, like florida, everyone goes everywhere in cars. Particularly in the winter when the windchill in N minnesota is 50 below and so you hop from one car to another. One heated glowing blowing place to another. Wet Wool and cold fingers and toes. White food, literallly all scandinavian food is white..potatoes, fish, cream sauces. When she meets her old boyfriend in Minneapolis at the Rassusun hotel. I use to go there...time to go rent more movies I am going through monty python now... Additionally, poingent, for me, was the Massey character, as I used to sell cars...
>
> Mouse with a cold cold past
> Susan CHi Susan,
Thanks for bringing up the idea of the cold-yes, when it gets below 10 degrees and the wind is howling you don't spend a lot of time hanging out in the backyard, etc. It also seemed that all of those cars (80's vehicles) had the same door chimes, well come to think of it just about everybody was driving Oldsmobile Cierras! The filmmakers probably just wanted to make a "geographic film" and wanted the sound to be as authentic as possible as well to paint that "sense of place" picture as detailed as possible. Also-more about the fast food-the kid wanted to go to McDonald's and hang out and his grandfather got upset that he wasn't staying around with his family-and that "they do more than eat cheeseburgers down there-I will tell you that!" They also made a big thing in the story about license plates, identification, tags, etc. Drat, if I could READ the script I am sure I could get it unravelled! It reminds me of a recent American fiction class I took in college. Watching this movie was like tackling an extremely complex highly polished short story.
Mitch
Posted by willow on September 11, 2001, at 8:37:29
In reply to Re: Fargo and door chimes » susan C, posted by Mitch on September 10, 2001, at 12:32:55
Mitch
Thanks for bringing this interesting topic to the board. It is a good exercise for my lax brain, parts of the movie are starting to come back now.
I'm not good at recalling names. The police officier who was pregnant, was she the the sheriff? Did the wife survive??
After taking an English course, I started analyzing all the characters and trying to slot them into their roles. This was in some way taking from my usual enjoyment of films and books, and disturbed my husband's pleasure too. Hmph. Wonder why growth involves these painful bumps?
SusanHow right you are about the white foods. Except for the bread, which hear is mainly white, and in Finland the staple bread is a heavy sour rye, a lot more flavour. Milk is added to almost everything. Finns mostly are not lactose intolerant. Perhaps the white foods come from the milk. Snow is white too. It brightens the long winter nights that shorten the days, plus provides a great mode for transportation. A great insulator too, now isn't that an oxymoron? Mother nature has a great sense of humour.
There was a movie called the "thirteenth warrior" or something like that. (Had a number and solider term for the title.) It was about a viking village being attacked by these people who wore bearskins. I believe the bear people represented ancient finns. The vikings and finns had always waged battles on each other. Your ancestors were more adventours and social, traveling and reaching out. Mine liked to stay on put on their land and steam.
Willow (a white birch at heart)
Posted by Mitch on September 11, 2001, at 10:33:42
In reply to My forgotten two cents ..., posted by willow on September 11, 2001, at 8:37:29
> Mitch
>
> Thanks for bringing this interesting topic to the board. It is a good exercise for my lax brain, parts of the movie are starting to come back now.It was just an impulse-I threw the thing in the VCR, and in the middle of the movie thought-"why not post this and see what others think?"
>
> I'm not good at recalling names. The police officier who was pregnant, was she the the sheriff? Did the wife survive??
>
My attentiveness and recall of names is quite lousy too. Yes, I believe she was the sheriff. No, unfortunately the wife didn't survive.> After taking an English course, I started analyzing all the characters and trying to slot them into their roles. This was in some way taking from my usual enjoyment of films and books, and disturbed my husband's pleasure too. Hmph. Wonder why growth involves these painful bumps?
>Dunno, but other people's *driving* skills make for great entertainment for the rest of us!
>
> Susan
>
> How right you are about the white foods. Except for the bread, which hear is mainly white, and in Finland the staple bread is a heavy sour rye, a lot more flavour. Milk is added to almost everything. Finns mostly are not lactose intolerant. Perhaps the white foods come from the milk. Snow is white too. It brightens the long winter nights that shorten the days, plus provides a great mode for transportation. A great insulator too, now isn't that an oxymoron? Mother nature has a great sense of humour.
>I think there was more than just a little spoofing of *white* middle-class America in there, as well. The movie really seemed to have little to do with murder and much more with $greed$ and *insulation* (the burbs), and also with gender roles (she is a pregnant woman as a sheriff). Most illustrators (her husband) and police don't make a lot of money, yet they seem to have their shit together a lot better than anyone else in the movie! The hoods basically are running on empty half the time and the car salesman and his wife have plenty of cash (with his father-in-law's dough added in, esp.) You know the salesman was going to lose his car business (if he didn't come up with the money), I wonder what his fate would have been if he would have just took the ass-bite with the car biz and gotten a big hand-slap for the fraudulent loan?? Would he have escaped being divorced by his wife?
Would she have realized that she was probably married to him because of her father's money, would she have forgiven him?> There was a movie called the "thirteenth warrior" or something like that. (Had a number and solider term for the title.) It was about a viking village being attacked by these people who wore bearskins. I believe the bear people represented ancient finns. The vikings and finns had always waged battles on each other. Your ancestors were more adventours and social, traveling and reaching out. Mine liked to stay on put on their land and steam.
>
> Willow (a white birch at heart)Thanks for that title-that sounds a *lot* like a Bergman film I saw a LONG time ago, however. I will check into it.
Mitch
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